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3 - Addressing “Won’t Do” Issues in Mathematics

from Part I - Individual-Level Academic Interventions

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 September 2020

By
Christopher H. Skinner ,
Shelby Wright  and
Elizabeth McCallum
Edited by
Frank C. Worrell ,
Tammy L. Hughes  and
Dante D. Dixson
Frank C. Worrell
Affiliation:
University of California, Berkeley
Tammy L. Hughes
Affiliation:
Duquesne University, Pittsburgh
Dante D. Dixson
Affiliation:
Michigan State University
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Summary

To enhance math achievement, numerous instructional strategies have been and will continue to be developed. Neither typical instructional procedures nor new methods for teaching math will be successful unless students choose to engage in assigned math activities. Two factors that can influence choice are response effort and reinforcement strength. Enhancing students’ basic math fact fluency can reduce the effort required to complete simple and more complex math tasks, making it more likely that students will choose to engage in math activities. Four evidence-based procedures designed to enhance basic math fact fluency are described (i.e., Cover, Copy, and Compare; Taped Problems; Explicit Timing; and Detect, Practice, and Repair). Also, procedures designed to enhance reinforcement for choosing to engage in math tasks are reviewed. These procedures include the Additive Interspersal Procedure, altering longer assignments into multiple briefer assignments, and applying interdependent group-oriented bonus rewards.

Keywords

choiceeffortautomaticityresponse ratesreinforcement strengthskill development
Type
Chapter
Information
The Cambridge Handbook of Applied School Psychology , pp. 30 - 47
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2020

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References

Enhancing Performance on In-Class Math Assignments

This article describes how classwide bonus rewards were applied in a special education classroom for middle school students with emotional/behavioral problems. In this study they increased in class math, spelling, and language arts performance.

This article describes how classwide bonus rewards were applied in a general education 1st grade classroom to increase percentage correct in class math assignments.

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This article describes how classwide bonus rewards were used to enhance math homework performance in four 4th-grade classrooms.

This article describes how classwide bonus rewards were applied in an 8th grade class to enhance homework assignment performance. The class included 17 students, with 10 students receiving special education services.

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